Trolley bracket



July 22, 1941.

R. W. NILES ETAL TROLLEY BRACKET Filed Oct. 24. 1959 INVENTORS RAr/ro/vo Wang/e NlLE 0 S 6. PE W ATTOR1 Patented July 22, 1941 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE TROLLEY BRACKET Raymond Walter Niles, Saline, andThomas C.

Pew, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Application October 24, 1939, Serial N 0. 301,076 Claims. (01. 105-454)The subject matter of this invention is an im- With this and theobjectionable features of proved form of trolley bracket for overheadconformer constructions in mind-the object of this veyors. invention ingeneral is .to simplify and improve Former constructions of thesetrolley brackets the design of trolley brackets for overhead conwere allof a general type in which the ball bear- 5 veyors.

ing trolley wheel was bolted to the head or boss Another object is todesign a trolley bracket of the bracket. The bolt used was speciallydewhich will require very little attention and servsigned for thispurpose, having a form of head ice when in operation.

adapted to engage the inner race of the bearing, A further object is toproduce a bracket in securing it to the bracket, and at the same timewhich the use of a bolt as a means of securing preventing it fromrotating With the outer race the trolley Wheel thereto iseliminated.

or trolley wheel. A hole of small diameter was Another object is to pr agreater ar usually drilled through the longitudinal center area betweenthe bracket and the trolley than was of the bolt so that grease or otherlubricant could customary in former practice.

be supplied to the bearing, and, therefore, the h r Objects and a esWill be ppa nut used with this bolt had t b of a special fromthe'following detailed description of the inform such that a grease guncould be readily vention and the accompanying drawing thereof employedfor injecting lubricant. Customary forming a part of this specificationand in which:

practice was either to attach a pressure fitting g. 1 s a f t View Ofthe pp P t f of the Alemite type to the outer surface of the the bracketwith a trolley mo e e nut, or provide a conical recess in the nut whichFig. 2 is a rear view of the structure shown in led to the hole in thecenter of the bolt, the

nozzle of the grease gun being inserted in this 3 s a i n of he entirebracket and recess. roller taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

From the standpoint of both the manufacturer as Fig. 4 is a view similarto that of Fig. 3 but and the user this construction resulted in manyshowing a sli t y d ent form of bracket bedisadvantages. First, the useof this special bolt fore the roller has been mounted thereon. and nutadded appreciably to the cost of pro- The bracket shown in Fig. 3 is ofconventional duction and purchase; and secondly, it increased ap aving avertically extending lower porthe amount and cost of maintenancenecessary t n l2 which s a pted o be c ne d y bo ts to insure continuedsatisfactory operation of the t rough the holes l3 to a comp y bracket,

conveyor. This second disadvantage is the reso that the two combinedstraddle the usual I- sult of several factors, namely: the bearing areabeam conveyor rail. From this lower portion l2 provided by this bolt wasof a limited amount; the bracket extends in the shape of an elbow to thebolt was weakened by having its center drilled the head or boss M whichhas its inner portion for lubrication purposes; the amount of lubricantl5 machined or turned down to receive the inner that could be suppliedto the bearing at any one race iii of the bearing IT with a press fit.The time was not very great because the space within inner race I6 isspecially designed to be used with the inner race of the bearing, whichacts as a this type of bracket, it being provided with a reservoir, wasin most cases almost entirely occuchamfered surface l3 such that afterthe bearing pied by the head of the bolt; and rotation of has beenpressed on to the head, the inner cirthe trolley wheel tended to loosenthe bolt and cumference 19 of the machined portion I5 is allow the innerrace of the bearing to revolve, spun down or swaged into engagement withthis producing abnormal wear and unsatisfactory opsurface l8 of theinner race, thereby securely aferation. If Alemite fittings were used tofacilifixing the bearing to the bracket. By means of tate lubrication,they protruded from the outer the recess 20 formed in the inner portionof the face of the head of the bracket and were prone head, and theconventional disc seal 25 used on to be damaged or broken off bystriking objects the inner surface of the trolley wheel or outer duringthe operation of the conveyor. race 26, a large reservoir for lubricantis pro- Therefore, in order to keep repairs at a minivided. Lubricant issupplied to this reservoir mum, frequent lubrication and inspection ofthe through the Alemite fitting 2|, positioned within trolleys andtrolley brackets was necessary, when another recess 22 formed in theouter portion of as a general rule users of this equipment gave it thehead of the bracket, this recess being of sulfivery little attention butnevertheless expected cient depth to completely surround the fitting 2|satisfactory operation. and protect it from damage.

Fig. 4 shows an alternate type of head construction, used when a greasefitting is not provided, having a shallower outer recess 23 and acone-shaped hole 24 to receive the end of a grease gun. The view alsoshows the condition of the inner circumference I9 of the head before thebearing has been fitted.

It can be seen that the invention results in a new form of trolleybracket having features which eliminate many of the aforementioneddisadvantages of previous types. Because of the simplicity of theconstruction, fewer parts are required and the time and cost ofmanufacture and assembly are lessened. In assembly, the trolley wheel ismounted directly upon an integral part of the bracket having a largediameter and bearing area, and once assembled, the trolley and bracketpractically become one unitary structure which could only be destroyedby a major structural failure caused by severe overload or a completelack of lubricationin the bearing. The possible occurrence of thislatter cause of failure is made very remote'bythe lubrication systemprovided which includes the unusually large grease reservoir within thebearing and the head of the bracket, plus the protected fitting throughwhich the lubricant is'supplied.

I claim:

1. A bracket for use with overhead conveyors having a cylindricalsurface on the upper portion thereof, said cylindrical surfaceconstituting a bearing support for a trolley wheel which is attachedthereto, and a reservoir for lubricant formed within said'cylindricalsurface.

2. A bracket for use with overhead conveyors having a cylindricalsurface on the upper portion thereof, said cylindrical surfaceconstituting a bearing support for a trolley wheel which is attachedthereto, a reservoir for lubricant formed within said cylindricalsurface, and means for providing lubricant to said reservoir.

. to said reservoir.

4. A conveyor bracket having a lower portion adapted to be connected toa conveyor chain, a boss formed on the upper portion of said bracket,and a turned-down bearing support on the in- I her part of said bossadapted to receive the inner race of a trolley wheel.

5. A conveyor bracket having a boss formed on the upper portion thereof,a turned-down portion on the inner part of said boss, a shoulder betweenthe surface of said turned-down portion and'the outer surface of saidboss, an inner race of a trolley wheel carried by said turned-downportion and abutting against said shoulder, said inner race beinglongitudinally confined upon said turned-down portion by a projectionformed upon the inner periphery of said turned-down portion, a reservoirfor lubricant formed within said turned-down portion, the outer face ofsaid boss being provided with a recess, an aperture connecting saidrecess tosaid reservoir, and a fitting associated with said aperturewhereby lubricant can be injected into said reservoir, the outercircumference of said boss projecting beyond the outer surface of saidfitting.

RAYMOND WALTER NILES. 1 THOMAS'C. PEW.

